Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Mushroom Soup


Garrett is quick to point out to me when something I make looks like a pile of vomit. I am then quick to tell him that some of the greatest meals I make look like vomit. Especially Indian curry dishes. That does not mean they are not delicious.

Case in point - this photo of the Porcini Wild Rice Soup from Veganomicon. I absolutely love mushrooms, so this soup looked like a winner to me. I used a small package of dried porcini mushrooms, as well as plain old white button mushrooms. The soup had a very deep, earthy flavor. The only complaint I have is that I kept having to add water, which meant I had to adjust the spices as well. Other than that, super yummy! Very filling and warm to the body, which is great when you live in Minnesota and the temperature hovers around ZERO degrees for several days.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

BBQ Love


Well, Veganomicon, you have done well for the second time. Tonight I planned ahead a little and made the BBQ Baked Tofu for supper, along with a baked sweet potato and some garlicky kale. The sauce had to simmer for some time, and I was also making barbecued chicken for the omnis, so I was a busy girl in the kitchen tonight.

It was easy to make, despite having to simmer and needing time for pressing the tofu. It was chewy. The sauce was unfreakingbelievable. Seriously. The tastiest barbecue sauce I have ever eaten. I did not add as much crushed red pepper as called for, or as much liquid smoke, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The only problem was that it made about three times as much as I needed for one pound of tofu. I didn't want to stop eating this tofu! But I did...and I even have some leftover for tomorrow.

My little brother was over for supper (age 9). Garrett was eating his kale and telling him how great it was, so he tried some, and he actually liked it. Woo-hoo!

Now I have to do all those dishes...

Monday, January 11, 2010

Sunshine for Breakfast


Yesterday I made my first recipe from Vcon, and it was a success. I haven't made muffins for quite some time, and the recipe for Carrot-Pineapple Sunshine Muffins looked really tasty, and semi-healthy. And, as a bonus, it had crushed pineapple in it. I have found many ways to use up those 5 cans I found in my cupboard, all of them delicious.

I made the muffins, and ate one when it was still warm. It was kind of mushy in the middle and I was afraid that I had not cooked them long enough. I have a tendency to screw up muffins for some reason. But this morning I had one (okay, two) for breakfast and they were perfect. I was going to use applesauce instead of oil, but my applesauce was moldy, so these are the real deal. And mostly whole wheat flour, but they don't have that dry "healthy" taste to them. I left out the raisins because Garrett didn't want them in there, and then he didn't eat them anyway. Ugh! Garrett and Grace love to help, and Garrett was very happy to grate all of the carrots for me while I talked on the phone with my grandma. They made a mess, but they had fun!

Yum!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Laziness Pays Off


I am tired...we got out of school early today because of the weather (blowing snow). This afternoon I decided to take a nap on the couch. When I woke up I felt groggy and strange. I tried to find something quick and easy to make for supper. I was torn between using a boxed wild rice mix or making guacamole and a black bean dip. I had some mushrooms and spinach in the refrigerator that needed to be used, and an idea was born.

While the rice was simmering, I sauteed onions and mushrooms in olive oil. I threw in a whole bunch of fresh spinach that I just tore with my fingers and cooked it until it wilted. When the rice was done, I threw in the cooked veggies and some cooked chickpeas. Wa-la, a fast and easy supper. And wow, was it ever delicious! Much better than I thought it would be. I turned an ordinary processed side dish into a semi-healthy meal. This will happen again, although maybe I will use plain rice and add my own seasonings.

I am going to find some fruit to eat for my dessert.

OMG I WON!

I enter giveaways on food blogs about once a week, and have done so for a while now. I have never won. Until yesterday. On my favorite recipe site, VegWeb, I entered a giveaway for Robin Robertson's cookbook, 1,000 Vegan Recipes. Yes, that's ONE THOUSAND!!!! Yesterday I checked to see who won and saw "paisleyvegan is the winner!" and squealed in delight.

Yay me!

I think I probably own enough vegan cookbooks now...maybe.

Very excited to look through and try out the recipes in both Veganomicon and this new book. The one that I won. The one I am getting for FREE.

W00t! W00t!

OK, I'm done now.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

My Happy Happy (My Yeah Yeah Yeah)

This morning before school, Garrett drank a soy kefir smoothie with bananas, strawberries, flax meal, and blueberries. I drank mine, too. I remarked at how healthy they were, full of vitamins and energy. I said it was a great breakfast. Garrett sucked his threw a straw and said, "It tastes more like dessert!"

Inside my heart went all aflutter.

Yesterday my brand new hard cover edition of Veganomicon arrived at my house. Yes, I have finally decided to purchase the Bible of Vegan Cooking and Cookbook That Only Loser Vegans Don't Already Own. I read through a lot of it last night. I haven't decided yet if I like it. You all know my sweet love for Vegan with a Vengeance. It just seems there are a lot of recipes in this book that I would never be interested in making. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I don't have to make them exactly like they do, with exactly that kind of sauce on it, or whatever. We shall see. I did find some recipes with seitan and tempeh, so that will be good. I will be sure to inform you how my new cooking adventures turn out.

Oh, and my new food column came out this week, titled "Food for Life." I have received a ton of great responses from people, and it makes me feel all warm inside. I am already brimming with ideas for the next several. Too bad it only comes out once a month.